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Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Film Appreciation - ...And Hell's Coming with Me

Guest contributor Greg R. has two guns and Film Appreciation for Tombstone (1993).

Back in the early '90s, there were
two movies made about lawman Wyatt Earp. Interestingly enough, Kevin
Costner was initially tapped to star in Tombstone, but creative
differences forced him to leave the project and start one of his own.
Costner wanted to star in a movie about the life of Earp, while
screenwriter/director Kevin Jarre just wanted to focus on Earp's
time in Tombstone, Arizona. After Costner started planning his
movie, titled simply Wyatt Earp, he tried to squash the Tombstone
project and allegedly used his Hollywood clout to get other actors to
turn down the title role. Costner was a superstar at the time and
people were scared to cross him politically.

However, Kurt Russell got his hands on
the screenplay and wanted to make the movie, so he agreed, which set
off a ton of popular actors joining the project, including Sam
Elliott, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe, Dana Delany, Joanna Pacula,
Michael Biehn, Billy Zane, Jason Priestley, Billy Bob Thornton,
Michael Rooker, and Thomas Haden Church. Russell initially tried to
get Willem Dafoe as Doc Holliday, but the studio preferred Val
Kilmer, who eventually got the role.

There were more setbacks to come, as
director Kevin Jarre was fired shortly after shooting began for
unknown reasons, though there has been speculation that he was going
over budget and the movie was going to be too long and he refused to
trim it down. As a result of his firing, George Cosmatos was hired
to replace him with the storyline centering on the Earp family and
the minor characters' backstory being cut with the production being
rushed as to be released ahead of Costner's film.

While I can
certainly see the studio's point of view, I wish the three-hour
version existed, because there was some good stuff cut from the final
film, which I will address as I continue...

The film opens with a few black and
white images, stating that the year is 1879 and, with the Civil War
having long ended, economic troubles have caused some to immigrate
west, including thieves and murderers. Among them are legendary
sheriff, Wyatt Earp, and his friend, gambler and tuberculosis patient
Doc Holliday. After silver was discovered in Arizona, Tombstone
became a hot spot and an organized crime unit known as The Cowboys
migrated there and took over.

The first actual scene of the movie
depicts The Cowboys showing up at the wedding of a couple who
apparently killed two Cowboys. The leader, Curly Bill Brocius
(Powers Boothe), states this and his guys, which include cold-blooded
killer Johnny Ringo (Michael Biehn), open fire on everyone there,
leaving only the bride and groom, along with the priest
standing...temporarily. They kill the bride and groom, but no one
wants to kill the priest, so they begin to eat the wedding food.
However, after the priest begins making noise, Johnny Ringo kills him
in cold blood to shut him up.

This is a nice
way to open up the movie and depict the bad guys, especially Ringo,
who comes off as a total psychopath from the start. His dialogue is
written well and Michael Biehn seems to be enjoying himself in the
role. It's also nice to spot guys like Thomas Haden Church, who
was best known for playing Lowell on Wings at the time, and Michael
Rooker, who has since popped up in multiple movies and television
shows in the following years.

On his way to Tombstone, Arizona, Wyatt
Earp is exiting a train and sees a guy trying to get his horse off the
train by slapping it around. Wyatt gets angry and slaps the guy,
asking if it hurts before running him off. He meets with his
brother, Virgil (Sam Elliott) and Morgan (Bill Paxton), and their
wives, Allie, Louisa, and Mattie.

Elsewhere, Doc Holliday, played
deliciously by Val Kilmer in a career performance, is gambling with a
couple of guys as his girlfriend, Kate (Joanna Pacula), waits on him.
Doc wins and the guys accuse him of cheating. Doc responds with
cool sarcasm before the two engage in a fight in which Doc stabs the
guy to death. Kate makes sure there's no interference with her gun
trained on the bartender. They then depart for Tombstone.

Val Kilmer really
put on an iconic performance in this movie. His dialogue is great
here, as he sarcastically tells his future victim how he wouldn't
be able to cope if they weren't friends. Joanna Pacula is pretty
good here, but is given little to do. Still, she's a pretty sexy
lady and plays her part well.

As the Earps arrive at Tombstone, they
are greeted by Sheriff John Behan (Jon Tenney) and Marshal Fred White
(Harry Carey, Jr.). White gives them rundown of the town, including
a casino called The Oriental, which isn't making money due to a
bullying dealer scaring their clientele away. Wyatt sees this as an
opportunity and goes inside, confronting the man, Johnny Tyler, who
is played by an unrecognizable Billy Bob Thornton. Wyatt belittles
Tyler, slapping him around and bullying him before throwing him out
of the casino and telling him never to return. He makes a deal with
the owner to get a quarter of the profits.

The only way I
even recognized Thornton here is by his voice, as it's very
distinctive. Russell shows why he's a popular actor by the manly
delivery of his lines, spouting off a favorite of mine: "Are you
gonna do something or just stand there and bleed?"

Outside, Johnny Tyler returns with a
shotgun, but Doc Holliday arrives, scaring Tyler and reuniting with
the Earps. Holliday comically even forgets he's there and
dismisses him. A gunfight erupts nearby, with Creek Johnson and Jack
Vermillion coming out on top and having to turn over their guns to
Marshal White.

Kilmer's
comedic timing is perfect, with him casually making Tyler look like a
buffoon and dismissing him with, "You may go now."

I'll be honest
here. I think Delany is a very pretty and likeable woman…but I
think she was sorely miscast here. I felt like they were going for a
rascally vixen type of sexy woman and Delany still comes off to me as
a girl next door. Pacula, for example, might have been a better
Josephine. Still, Delany was the only questionable casting decision
I have in this movie.

Everyone in town attends a play
performed by Mr. Fabian, who is admired greatly by Billy Breckinridge
(Jason Priestley). Meanwhile, Josephine is admired by Wyatt Earp and
Doc Holliday makes no bones about noticing, even in front of a
jealous Mattie, Wyatt's wife. Mattie later tries to get Wyatt to
come home with her, but he has to work.

I felt like the
Wyatt-Josephine attraction was a little forced since they hadn't
even met, but I guess they didn't have a ton of time to develop
their relationship with production being rushed and the screenplay
being trimmed. Still, it might have worked with someone else in the
Josephine role.

The Oriental has a really good night
and is filled with customers. Later, The Cowboys come in and hassle
Wyatt, who states he is retired. They are about to leave him alone,
but Doc and Ringo get into a battle of words, resulting in a tense
standoff. Ringo performs a gun twirling display, which Doc mocks
with a cup afterwards, much to the delight of the customers.

This is my
favorite scene in the entire movie. Holliday and Ringo up the
intensity here as the entire town watches on. You can feel them
hating each other and could sense everyone involved in this scene
sitting on the edges of their seats as they wait to see what was
going to happen.

On another day, Wyatt runs into
Josephine on a horse ride. The two begin a flirtation, despite Wyatt
being "an oak", as stated by Doc earlier in the film. They then
share some time talking under a tree about their dreams for the
future. Josephine is a free spirit, wanting to travel and live on
room service while Wyatt dreams of settling with a family, but
Josephine sees through him and says it doesn't suit him.

I've seen a
trailer with some extra footage that never made it into the movie,
one of which includes Wyatt and Josephine kissing against a tree. I
can only assume there was an extended sequence here that was cut for
time. Probably a good idea.

Late at night, Curly Bill gets drunk
and starts shooting up the town, sending everyone running. In the
chaos, he shoots and kills Marshal White after the cowardly Sheriff
Behan orders Fred to go take his gun. Wyatt is then forced into
action, putting a gun to Ike Clanton's head and arresting Curly
Bill. Billy Clanton (Thomas Haden Church) is targeted by Doc
Holliday.

I love this
scene. Kurt Russell brings a real intensity to Earp, but Kilmer is a
great balance to him as the cool, calm Holliday and utters another
favorite line after Billy Clanton utters to him that he's drunk and
is probably seeing double: "I've got two guns... one for each of
ya."

Mayor John Clum (Terry O'Quinn) shows
up at their casino and tries to recruit them to help sheriff the
town. Wyatt coldly turns him down, but Virgil is apparently unable
to shake his guilt and takes the offer. Morgan follows Virgil’s
stance, but Wyatt wants no part of it.

I had no idea
John Locke from Lost was in this movie until I rewatched it.

On another night at the casino, Doc and
Ike have a confrontation in which Ike accuses Doc of cheating.
Virgil intervenes and then throws Ike out of the casino. With The
Cowboys making threats and the town getting nervous, Virgil decides
it's time to strictly enforce the law, wanting to arrest the
Clantons for misdemeanor gun charges. Wyatt senses trouble and gets
sworn in along with Doc and they set off for the O.K. Corral, where
the Cowboys wait.

Then, chaos ensues at the Gunfight at
the O.K. Corral. All of the Cowboys except for the retreating Ike
Clanton and Billy Claiborne get gunned down after refusing to turn
over their weapons. Doc gets the most kills, easily disposing of
Billy Clanton with Wyatt's help. After the dust settles, Sheriff
Behan shows up and says he's placing everyone under arrest, but
Wyatt says he's not going to let him arrest them, which he doesn't.

Doc Holliday is
cool as ever, posing and winking during the gunfight as everyone else
is flailing around trying not to get shot. He is a real loyal friend
to Wyatt and it is obvious at this point he would sacrifice his own
life for him. In an interesting bit of trivia, Billy Claiborne is
played by Wyatt Earp, a distant relative and namesake of the actual
Wyatt Earp.

The town is shocked and the Cowboys are
out for vengeance. Billy Breckinridge chews out the Earps for
killing "his friends", despite, as Wyatt comments, the fact that
they never did anything but make fun of him. Johnny Ringo walks out
and swears vengeance on them. Wyatt says he doesn't want to fight,
but Doc states "I'm your Huckleberry" and provokes Ringo. The
Cowboys restrain a drunken Ringo from escalating anything, but later
that night, vengeance comes.

Biehn is great
here, as is Kilmer and the tension is getting heavy. Doc has so many
quotable lines in this movie; it's hard to choose a favorite.

During a lightning storm, The Cowboys
descend upon Tombstone and declare war on the Earp family, including
shooting at the wives, who are in the midst of being warned by
Josephine. Virgil is shot and injured and Morgan mentions that Mayor
Clum and his wife were shot as well. Morgan is killed during another
strike while playing pool. Sherman McMaster (Michael Rooker), who
was until this night a Cowboy, tells Wyatt he wants no part of what
they did and, along with Creek Johnson and Jack Vermillion, throws
down his red Cowboy sash in protest.

I actually liked
the downfall of the Earp family more than the shootout. I loved the
chaos and darkness here, as The Cowboys' vengeance is carried out
with brutal precision, knocking out two of the four involved in
killing their comrades. But, also, I liked McMasters and his boys
leaving the gang afterwards, not just because it was true to life,
but because it showed that these characters have dimensions.

Wyatt decides to quietly leave town,
but Johnny Ringo mocks him as they pull away to go to the train.
Curly Bill sends Ike and Stillwell to the train station to finish
them, but Wyatt tricks them and shoots Stillwell and delivers a
message to Ike to tell the Cowboys that he's coming after them and
hell will follow with him.

Thus, begins the Earp Vendetta Ride, as
Wyatt, Doc, McMasters, Creek, Vermillion, and more begin shooting and
killing Cowboys all over the state. It hits its zenith in a gun
battle at a creek where Wyatt goes crazy and shoots down Curly Bill
in the middle of the water. Also, during the vendetta, Mr. Fabian is
killed by Cowboys after they steal Josephine's watch. After
Josephine informs Sheriff Behan and Billy Breckinridge about it,
Billy takes off, stating that there has to be some law and order.

In this movie,
Billy is largely a pointless character, but it is my understanding
that his part was gutted. On the old Laserdisc, there is a
apparently a scene of him arriving at Henry Hooker's (Charlton
Heston) estate carrying the two dead Cowboys, one of which was Billy
Claiborne, who killed Mr. Fabian. There is also a scene in some
trailers of him aiming his weapon at them, so I have to assume the
kill scene is out there, too. For some reason, this was never
included in the director's cut, which is a shame, because it would
have made Breckinridge a more meaningful character.

Wyatt and his clan settle down for the
night at Henry Hooker's estate, but a Cowboy delivers the dead body
of McMasters and throws out a challenge to Wyatt to face Johnny Ringo
in a gun battle. Wyatt accepts the challenge, but Doc goes in his
place. The gunfight is short, as Doc puts a bullet in Ringo's
head, killing him. Wyatt shows up and is thankful because he knew he
couldn't beat him. They then set out with their crew and finish
off The Cowboys.

Years later, as Doc lays dying in
Colorado, Wyatt goes to visit him, at which point Doc tells him
goodbye and insists that he go find Josephine and live a happy life.
Wyatt thanks him for his friendship and leaves. Doc ends up dying
alone in the hospital.

Wyatt tracks down Josephine and decides
to run away with her and live on room service. The narrator gives an
account on the fates of everyone else, with Virgil becoming a town
sheriff despite having the use of only one arm and Mattie committing
suicide by overdose. Wyatt and Josephine lived happily together for
47 years until their deaths.

So, to sum it up,
in a desert island scenario where I was only allowed to choose one
Western to take with me, Tombstone would be the one I would choose.
Despite its production issues, it turned out to be a very fun and
energetic movie with dialogue that pops off the screen and action
that keeps your eyes glued to it. Val Kilmer steals the film with
his comedic, yet collected performance, but is supported by a great,
ecclectic cast. Plus, it outperformed Costner's film by a pretty
wide margin, making over double its budget while Costner's film
lost approximately forty million dollars.

My only regret is
that there was so much cut from the movie and never restored, with
rumors stating that the film would be about three hours long with it
included. I'd still watch the full version and maybe someday,
we'll get an ultimate version. Until then, I'll just enjoy this
one.